Processing systems which include memories and processors oftentimes experience failures. Sometimes these failures are so-called hard errors, from which no recovery is possible. Thereafter the device that has caused the hard error is replaced. On the other hand, oftentimes failures are repeatable or so-called soft errors, which occur intermittently and randomly. Oftentimes these soft errors are repeatable and are localized to a particular memory module within the processing system.
However, it is oftentimes difficult to obtain information in existing conventional systems about the memory soft errors. Also, in conventional processing systems, memory modules are typically not deallocated from the system. Clearly, what is needed is a system for determining the cause of a repeatable or soft error and a system and method for deallocating the particular device associated with the soft error. The system must be easy to implement and cost effective, and should be easily implemented in existing systems. The present invention addresses such a need.